For most countries, the period beginning in 2008 and extending into the early 2010s has been unceremoniously named the ‘Great Recession.’ This lengthy period of economic decline was brought about as a result of banks driving up the amount of debt in the economy. The Great Recession was at its worst between 2008 and 2009 and was the most damaging of the four global recessions since the second world war. Abnormally high food prices, high unemployment rates, and skyrocketing real estate prices were just some of the adverse effects of the recession, each of which made daily life for many lower-income individuals and ... (full story)